Q. I've plugged my laptop in on an airplane, but it keeps cycling every five seconds between receiving power then running on the battery. Why?

A. A typical plane provides 15V DC, with up to 75 watts per outlet. This probably isn't enough to both power your laptop and charge its battery. Some laptops are smart enough to sense the amount of power and not charge the battery in these situations. If this isn't the case for your laptop, try removing the battery (but make sure you've saved everything first). This resolved the problem for my Lenovo laptop and worked great. Just make sure you save your work regularly, because if the crew suddenly turns off the power to the plugs, you'll lose everything.